Devil’s Lair Cabernet Sauvignon 2023
Devil’s Lair Cabernet Sauvignon 2023
$50, 14.5% alcohol, screwcap, Margaret River.
I was very interested to taste this, given the impression the 2021 Devil’s Lair Cabernet Sauvignon made on me. I’ve now tasted/consumed this from two different bottles, a couple of months apart, which is a luxury not often afforded in the wine reviewing game.
The tannin on this wine is quite something. Give it a chance to breathe and it spreads out beautifully. There’s cedarwood oak, boysenberry, whispers of herbs, a pure run of blackcurrant. There’s a plushness to the palate but the finish freshens and then heads on for another run. That finish, and that run, and that tannin, is where the superlatives are forged. 94/100 is Gold Medal standard in my world. 95 is heading into “high gold”. I’m high gold on this wine. 95 points.
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The Devil’s Lair Cabernet Sauvignon 2021 is also worth looking into.
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Devil’s Lair’s vineyards were first planted in 1981 though the winery and brand of Devil’s Lair didn’t emerge until 1985. The first wines were released in 1990.
Devil’s Lair’s wines are made by Travis Clydesdale. There’s an interview with Travis Clydesdale from a decade ago published here.
The 2023 vintage was a challenging La Niña‐influenced season in Margaret River, with a cold, very wet winter and spring, resulting in significantly reduced yields. It was a great chardonnay vintage, one of the very best, and it has produced many fine red wines.
Devil’s Lair is at the southern, cooler end of Margaret River but it often, also, sources Cabernet Sauvignon from the famed Wilyabrup sub-region of Margaret River, to the north, which is more moderate/warmer.
